Original language: English CoP18 Prop. XXX CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA AND FLORA ____________________ Eighteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties Colombo (Sri Lanka), 23 May – 3 June 2019 CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSALS FOR AMENDMENT OF APPENDICES I AND II A. Proposal Transfer from Appendix II to Appendix I of Balearica pavonina in accordance with Resolution Conf. 9.24 (Rev. CoP16), Annex 1. Paragraph C) i): A marked decline in the population size in the wild has been observed as ongoing. Paragraph C) ii): A marked decline in the population size in the wild which has been inferred or projected on the basis of levels or patterns of exploitation and a decrease in area of habitat. B. Proponent Senegal and Burkina Faso* C. Supporting statement 1. Taxonomy 1.1 Class: Aves 1.2 Order: Gruiformes 1.3 Family: Gruidae 1.4 Genus, species: Balearica pavonina (Linnaeus, 1758). 1.5 Scientific synonyms: Subspecies B. p. pavonina and B. p. ceciliae. 1.6 Common names: English: Black-crowned Crane, West African Crowned Crane French: Grue couronnée de l’Afrique de l’ouest et du Soudan, Grue couronnée Spanish: Grulla coronada del África occidental, Grulla coronada cuellinegra, Grulla coronada 1.7 Code numbers: * The geographical designations employed in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the CITES Secretariat (or the United Nations Environment Programme) concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The responsibility for the contents of the document rests exclusively with its author. CoP17 Prop. XXX – p. 1 2. Overview In 2010, Balearica pavonina was reclassified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red-list of Threatened Species. This classification was reaffirmed in 2012 and 2016 on the basis that “recent surveys have shown a rapid population decline which is predicted to continue into the future, primarily due to habitat loss and trapping for domestication or illegal international trade” (Birdlife International 2016). Trend data for the eastern sub- population B. p. ceciliae is poorly known but may warrant transferring the species from Appendix II to Appendix I if projections depicting a worst case scenario are realized (Birdlife 2016). This species has shown rapid population declines in recent surveys which are predicted to continue into the future (Birdlife International 2018). Transferring this species to Appendix I has been identified as a priority conservation need (Meine and Archibald 1996, Morrison et al. 2007). This species was included in Appendix II as a part of a higher taxon listing at the Family level (Gruidae spp.) in 1995. Concerns for the trade and conservation of this crane were first raised in 1989 at CITES Animals Committee (AC2) when it was reported that most of the trade in Balearica pavonina was coming from wild-sourced birds from Tanzania, a country where black crowned cranes did not occur. By April of 2009 at AC24, Balearica pavonina was included in the Review of Significant Trade (RST) as an urgent case (CITES 2009). Range states included in the RST were Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leon, Sudan, Togo and Uganda (CITES 2011a). The Animals Committee retained all of the range States in the RST in 2011 as no response from the range States had been received (CITES 2011b). At AC26, in March of 2012, the majority of range countries received a provisional category of least concern and were removed from the RST. However, the AC found that there was urgent concern for Guinea and possible concern for Nigeria, Sudan and South Sudan (CITES 2012a). In March of 2013 at the CITES Standing Committee (SC63), it was noted that Nigeria had complied with all recommendations concerning Balearica pavonina and was removed from the RST process. It was also agreed that all Parties should suspend trade in this species from Guinea, the Sudan and South Sudan (CITES 2013). This trade suspension is still ongoing. Black crowned cranes face significant threats across their range. Habitat loss is a key threat that includes the use of wetlands for agriculture, or extraction of water for irrigation (Meine and Archibald, 1996; Williams et al., 2003). Natural forces and the intensification of human land use have negatively impacted the wetlands and grasslands across the Sahel and Sudan Savannah regions (Tréca 1996). Drought, resulting in the loss of seasonal and permanent wetlands, has contributed to desertification (Williams 2003). Drought has also forced people to migrate to more moist and less populated areas resulting in wetland degradation from overgrazing, tree removal, pollution and the heavy use of agricultural chemicals (Scholte 1996, Williams et al. 2003). Tree removal for fuel and building material has reduced roosting sites in many areas of the western range such as the Senegal Delta, the Niger Delta, the lower Bafing, the Gambia River, and northern Côte d’Ivoire (Williams et al. 2003). Another important threat to the species is the removal of B. pavonina from the wild for domestication and trade, including illegal trade (Beilfuss et al., 2007, Kone et al., 2007, International Crane Foundation, 2009). Black crowned cranes are either trapped or eggs and chicks are removed from the nests and the individuals are raised in captivity and sold on the local, regional, or international market (Meine and Archibald 1996, CITES 2012b). It is believed that illegal trade and the continued capture of B. pavonina could lead to its extinction in Mali (Kone et al., 2007). Breeding success of cranes in captivity is considered to be very low and birds are known to generally be short-lived and prone to diseases and injury (International Crane Foundation did not breed successfully (Kone et al., 2007)). It has also been reported that this species is highly prized in private collections (K. Morrison, in litt. to UNEP- WCMC, 2011) and, in some areas, cranes were reported to be hunted for meat (Meine and Archibald 1996). International trade over the period between 1986 and 2017 consisted principally of live birds, with small quantities of bodies, skins, feathers, trophies and scientific specimens also reported in trade. The majority of trade involved wild-sourced birds, with trade in captive-bred specimens also reported (CITES 2012b). Trade was primarily for commercial purposes, with live animals also traded for breeding in captivity, as personal possessions and, to a lesser extent, for zoos, circuses or travelling exhibitions, education, and scientific purposes (CITES 2012b). With declining population levels, the current trade in wild sourced birds is not sustainable. CoP17 Prop. XXX – p. 2 The black crowned crane is legally protected in most countries where they are found but this protection is thought to be inadequate (Meine et al. 1996). Hunting legislation in most countries does not allow crane shooting but a number of countries do not have the financial resources to control illegal hunters (Tréca 1992). In many cases, wildlife laws are outdated or weak, there is low awareness of the laws among the public and there is insufficient resources to implement the laws (Morrison et al. 2007). 3. Species characteristics 3.1 Distribution Balearica pavonina occurs from Senegambia to central Ethiopia, N. Uganda and NW Kenya and is known to occur as far south as Difule on Uganda-Sudan border, the northwest corner of Murchison Falls National Park and the northern portion of Lake Turkana (Keith 1968, Soothill 1982, Urban et al. 1986). See Figure 1. It is native to Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, South Sudan and Sudan (Birdlife 2016). The black-crowned crane occupies the western part of this range and scattered populations occur throughout sub- Saharan West Africa from Senegambia to Chad while B. p. ceciliae occurs in eastern sub-Saharan Africa from Chad to Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and North Kenya, especially in the upper Nile River basin (Urban et al. 1986, Tréca 1992, Meine et al. 1996, Borrow et al. 2001). In West Africa there are two centers of concentration for the crane that serve as breeding areas, Senegambia and the Chad basin, with limited populations in between (Urban et al. 1986, Borrow et al. 2001). The crane is possibly extinct in Nigeria (Urban et al. 1986, Borrow et al. 2001, Birdlife 2016), considered a vagrant in Eritrea and its status is uncertain in the Central African Republic (Urban et al. 2007). Figure 1. Range of Balearica pavonina 3.2 Habitat Black crowned cranes inhabit dry and wet open habitats, preferring marshes, damp fields or wet grasslands and open edges of waterbodies (Urban et al. 1986,). It is rarely associated with open crop lands, but is sometimes found on dry lands and abandoned fields (Johnsgard 1983, Meine et al. 1996). They can also be found in areas with water up to 1 meter deep and knee to hip-high vegetation composed of leguminous and rosaceous plants and dominated by Cyperus, Scirpus, Cyonodon, Setaria and Eleocharis species (Johnsgard 1983). They are rarely associated with open water (Tréca 1992). They roost in large trees, having a preference for open trees such as mvule (Chlorphora) but will also use smaller trees or even roost in shallow water when necessary (Johnsgard 1983, Urban et al. 1986, Meine et al. 1996, Birdlife 2016). In the eastern portion of their range, they typically inhabit wet meadows and fields, larger freshwater marshes and margins of CoP17 Prop. XXX – p. 3 ponds, lakes and rivers that have open areas of emergent vegetation (Meine et al. 1996). Black crowned cranes are both year-round residents and local migrants (Meine et al.